Multi-factor authentication with geolocation and short-range communication

ABSTRACT

A method of multi-factor authentication is performed by an access control device. In response to detecting a beacon signal transmitted by a user equipment (UE) via a short-range radio access technology (RAT) the access control device sends a query to a location server for a current location of the UE. The access control device then determines whether the UE is within a threshold distance of the access control device and, if so, begins monitoring a signal strength of one or more beacon signals transmitted by the UE. If the signal strength of the one or more beacon signals exceeds a signal strength threshold, then the access control device may generate an access signal to indicate that a user associated with the UE is authorized to access a protected resource.

BACKGROUND

A technological revolution in the home is driving development for new“smart” services, including consolidation by service providers in thefields of data, voice, video, security, energy management, etc., as wellas with expanding home networks. Buildings are getting smarter and moreconvenient as a means to reduce operational costs for enterprisefacilities.

In the area of home and building automation, smart homes and buildingsmay provide control over virtually any device or system in the home oroffice, from appliances to plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) securitysystems. As such, in the near future, increasing development will leadto numerous ‘smart’ devices surrounding a user at home, in vehicles, atwork, and in many other locations. These smart devices are increasinglypopular for sensing environmental conditions, controlling equipment, andsecurely providing information, control, and alerts to users viaapplications of the network-connected devices that are connected to thecloud-based services. Various approaches are used in these systems toauthenticate the identity of users of the network-connected devices andsystems, to provide privacy and security for the users and user-relatedinformation. However, conventional authentication methods foridentifying a user by a smart device typically require significant userparticipation. For example, a smart lock may be deployed in a buildingor other structure to provide controlled access to a protected resource,such as a room, office, storage, area, etc. Conventional smart lockstypically provide the user with the ability to unlock/lock the smartlock by way of their network-connected devices. Often, however, theseconventional smart locks require that a dedicated application beinstalled on their network-connected device, where the applicationrequires the user to provide some input for authentication (e.g.,password). Furthermore, these conventional applications oftencommunicate directly with the smart lock in order to activate the lock,which may present a security vulnerability should an un-authorized userattempt to spoof the user's device or otherwise hack into the smart lockitself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures, in which the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similaror identical items.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communicationnetwork.

FIG. 2 illustrates examples of user equipments (UEs).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example location server.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example access control device (ACD).

FIG. 5 is a call flow diagram of an example process for multi-factorauthentication.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a UE at various locations with respectto an ACD.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process formulti-factor authentication performed by an ACD.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ACD controlling accessby way of a door lock.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ACD controlling accessby way of an automatic door opener.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ACD controllingaccess to a software application of a computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to computing platforms(i.e., user equipment, server, etc.), computer-readable media, andprocesses for use with an access control device (ACD).

A user device, or user equipment (UE), may be mobile or stationary, andmay communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, theterm “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or“AT”, a “wireless device”, a “subscriber device”, a “subscriberterminal”, a “subscriber station”, a “user terminal” or UT, a “mobileterminal”, a “mobile station” and variations thereof. Generally, UEs cancommunicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the corenetwork the UEs can be connected with external networks such as theInternet. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core networkand/or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wiredaccess networks, Wi-Fi networks (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.) andso on. UEs can be embodied by any of a number of types of devicesincluding but not limited to PC cards, compact flash devices, externalor internal modems, wireless or wireline phones, and so on. Acommunication link through which UEs can send signals to the RAN iscalled an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reversecontrol channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link throughwhich the RAN can send signals to UEs is called a downlink or forwardlink channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcastchannel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the termtraffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink/reverse ordownlink/forward traffic channel.

FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wirelesscommunication network 100 in accordance with various aspects. Thewireless communication network 100 contains UE1. UE1 may include amobile phone, a personal computer (e.g., a laptop computer, desktopcomputer, etc.), and so on. For example, in FIG. 1, UE1 is illustratedas a cellular touchscreen mobile phone or smart phone.

Referring to FIG. 1, UE1 is configured to communicate with an accessnetwork (e.g., the RAN 120, an access point 125, etc.) over a physicalcommunications interface or layer, shown in FIG. 1 as air interfaces 104and 108 and/or a direct wired connection 130. The air interface 104 cancomply with a given cellular communications protocol (e.g., CDMA, EVDO,eHRPD, GSM, EDGE, W-CDMA, LTE, etc.), while the air interface 108 cancomply with a wireless IP protocol (e.g., wi-fi, IEEE 802.11). The RAN120 includes a plurality of access points that serve UEs over airinterfaces, such as the air interface 104. The access points in the RAN120 can be referred to as access nodes or ANs, access points or APs,base stations or BSs, Node Bs, eNode Bs, and so on. These access pointscan be terrestrial access points (or ground stations), or satelliteaccess points. The RAN 120 is configured to connect to a core network140 that can perform a variety of functions, including bridging circuitswitched (CS) calls between UEs served by the RAN 120 and other UEsserved by the RAN 120 or a different RAN altogether, and can alsomediate an exchange of packet-switched (PS) data with external networkssuch as Internet 175. The Internet 175 includes a number of routingagents and processing agents (not shown in FIG. 1 for the sake ofconvenience). In FIG. 1, UE N is shown as connecting to the Internet 175directly (i.e., separate from the core network 140, such as over anEthernet connection of Wi-Fi or 802.11-based network). The Internet 175can thereby function to bridge packet-switched data communicationsbetween UE N and UE 1 via the core network 140. Also shown in FIG. 1 isthe access point 125 that is separate from the RAN 120. The access point125 may be connected to the Internet 175 independent of the core network140 (e.g., via an optical communication system such as FiOS, a cablemodem, etc.). The air interface 108 may serve UE1 over a local wirelessconnection, such as IEEE 802.11 in an example. UE N is shown as adesktop computer with a direct wired connection 130 to the Internet 175,such as a direct connection to a modem or router, which can correspondto the access point 125 itself in an example (e.g., for a Wi-Fi routerwith both wired and wireless connectivity).

The core network 140 is configured to support one or more communicationservices (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions,Push-to-Talk (PTT) sessions, group communication sessions, socialnetworking services, etc.) for UEs that can connect to the core network140 via the RAN 120 and/or via the Internet 175, and/or to providecontent (e.g., web page downloads) to the UEs.

Further illustrated in FIG. 1 is an access control device (ACD) 127. Insome aspects, the ACD 127 is deployed to provide authentication (andauthorization) for User1 to access a protected resource 131. Forexample, protected resource 131 may be a building, room, storage, etc.,where ACD 127 authenticates the User1 and then generates an accesssignal 129 to trigger access to the protected resource 131 (e.g., byunlocking and/or automatically opening a door). In other examples, theprotected resource 131 may be a software application of a computingdevice (e.g., laptop, computer, terminal, etc.) where, afterauthentication, the ACD 127 may generate the access signal 129 to unlockand/or grant User1 access to the software application. These and otherexamples of granting access to a protected resource 131 will bedescribed in further detail below with regards to FIGS. 8-10.

As will be described in further detail below, UE1 may include atransceiver that periodically generates a beacon signal in accordancewith a short-range radio access technology (RAT), such as Bluetooth,Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, Wi-fi, etc., by way of air interface106. The UE1 may also include a communications device for transmittingits current location (e.g., positioning data) over one or more of theair interfaces 104 and 108 according to one or more RATs. For example,UE1 may be configured to transmit its current location to locationserver 170 via a first RAT, such as long term evolution (LTE) by way ofair interface 104. In another example, UE1 may be configured to transmitits current location to location server 170 via a second RAT, such aswi-fi, by way of air interface 108.

Referring to FIG. 1, location server 170 is shown as connected to theInternet 175, the core network 140, or both. The location server 170 canbe implemented as a plurality of structurally separate servers, oralternately may correspond to a single server. As will be describedbelow, location server 170 may include a UE location module forcollecting positioning data from one or more UEs and for reporting thepositioning data to one or more ACDs (e.g., ACD 127).

The features described herein are directed to apparatus and methods forACD 127 to authenticate access to protected resource 131 utilizing amulti-factor authentication procedure, which may be summarized asfollows: (1) ACD 127 detects a beacon signal (e.g., Bluetooth (BLE)beacon signal transmitted by a UE1 via air interface 106); (2) Inresponse to detecting the presence of the beacon signal, the ACD 127communicates with a location server 170 (e.g., via air interfaces 104 or108) to obtain a current geo-location of the UE1, where UE1 is a trustedUE that has been previously associated with the ACD 127; (3) Thelocation server 170 then queries UE1 based, in part, on a unique deviceidentifier (e.g., IMSI number) to obtain a current geo-location of UE1(e.g., via air interfaces 104 or 108); (4) Upon receiving the currentgeo-location of UE1, the location server 170 may: (a) forward thecurrent geo-location information (e.g., location coordinates) to the ACD127, such that the ACD 127 may determine if UE1 is within a thresholddistance of the ACD 127; (b) determine the distance between UE1 and theACD 127 and forward the distance information to the ACD 127; or (c)determine whether UE1 is within the threshold distance of the ACD 127and send a notification to the ACD 127 indicating as such; (5) inresponse to receiving the indication of UE1's current location at theACD 127, and if the information received from the location server 170indicates that UE1 is within a threshold distance (e.g., within a “safezone”), the ACD 127 may then begin monitoring the signal strength (e.g.,RSSI) of the received beacon signal; and (6) Once the signal strength ofthe beacon signal indicates that UE1 is within close range to the ACD127 (e.g., RSSI>signal strength threshold), then ACD 127 may generate anaccess signal 129, where access signal 129 indicates that the User1associated with UE1 is authorized to access the protected resource 131.

Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure provide a multi-factorauthentication procedure that utilizes both geo-location information andsignal strength measurements. Of particular note, is that aspects of thepresent disclosure eliminate the need for a dedicated application to beinstalled on the UE and eliminate the need for any user interaction.Furthermore, the examples provided herein may increase security as nocommunication session is established between the UE1 and the ACD 127,nor does the location server 170 provide any unlock command to the ACD127 (i.e., the ACD 127 may make the determination to grant access to theprotected resource 131 on its own accord). Even still, authentication isfurther enhanced by utilizing existing device identifiers (e.g., IMSInumber included in a subscriber identity module (SIM) card of the UE1)to verify a trusted UE.

FIG. 2 illustrates examples of UEs (i.e., user devices) in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure. UEs 200A and 200 B arepossible implementations of the UE1 of FIG. 1. The various device typesillustrated in FIG. 2 include a mobile phone (e.g., UE 200A) and smartphone (e.g., UE 200B).

UEs 200A and 200B, may also be referred to as cellular phones andincludes portable telephones that can make and receive calls over aradio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone servicearea.

While internal components of UEs such as the UEs 200A and 200B can beembodied with different hardware configurations, a basic high-level UEconfiguration for internal hardware components is shown as platform 202in FIG. 2. The platform 202 can receive and execute softwareapplications, data and/or commands transmitted from the RAN 120 that mayultimately come from the core network 140, the Internet 175 and/or otherremote servers and networks (e.g., application servers, web URLs, etc.).The platform 202 can also independently execute locally storedapplications without RAN interaction. The platform 202 can include atransceiver 206 operably coupled to a processor 208 (e.g., anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other microprocessor,logic circuit, data processing device, etc.). The processor 208 executesthe application programming interface (API) 209 layer that interfaceswith any resident programs in the memory 212 of the wireless device. Thememory 212 can be comprised of read-only or random-access memory (RAMand ROM), EEPROM, flash cards, or any memory common to computerplatforms. The platform 202 also can include a local database 214 thatcan store applications not actively used in memory 212, as well as otherdata. The local database 214 is typically a flash memory cell, but canbe any secondary storage device as known in the art, such as magneticmedia, EEPROM, optical media, tape, soft or hard disk, or the like.

Platform 202 may also include a position module 218 that provides one ormore motion and/or position determination functionalities. Such motionand/or position determination capabilities may be provided using digitalcellular positioning techniques and/or Satellite Positioning Systems(SPS). Additionally, the position module 218 may include one or moremotion sensors (e.g., simple switches, accelerometers, angle sensors,etc.), or other on-board devices to provide relative position, velocity,acceleration, and/or orientation information of the UE, itself.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the invention can include a UE (e.g., UE200A-B, etc.) including the ability to perform the functions describedherein. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the variouslogic elements can be embodied in discrete elements, software modulesexecuted on a processor or any combination of software and hardware toachieve the functionality disclosed herein. For example, the positionmodule 218 may also be configured to respond to queries received from alocation server (e.g., location server 170) and in response thereto,report a current location of the platform 202 back to location server170.

The processor 208 may execute instructions and perform tasks under thedirection of software components that are stored in memory 212. Forexample, the memory 212 may store various software components that areexecutable or accessible by the one or more processors 208.

The position module 218 may include routines, program instructions,objects, and/or data structures that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types. For example, the positionmodule 218 may include one or more instructions, which when executed bythe one or more processors 208 direct the UE to perform operationsrelated to receiving, processing, reporting, and presenting positioningdata indicating a current geo-location of the UE.

Thus, in some aspects, the processor 208, memory 212, API 209, localdatabase 214, and position module 218 may all be used cooperatively toload, store and execute the various functions disclosed herein and thusthe logic to perform these functions may be distributed over variouselements. Alternatively, the functionality could be incorporated intoone discrete component. Therefore, the features of the UEs 200A and 200Bin FIG. 2 are to be considered merely illustrative and the invention isnot limited to the illustrated features or arrangement.

The wireless communication between the UEs 200A and/or 200B and the RAN120 can be based on different technologies, such as CDMA, W-CDMA, timedivision multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access(FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), GSM, or otherprotocols that may be used in a wireless communications network or adata communications network. Voice transmission and/or data can betransmitted to the UEs from the RAN using a variety of networks andconfigurations. Accordingly, the illustrations provided herein are notintended to limit the embodiments of the invention and are merely to aidin the description of aspects of embodiments of the invention.

Furthermore, the transceiver 206, may be configured to periodicallybroadcast a beacon signal in accordance with a short-range radio accesstechnology (RAT), such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee,Wi-fi, etc. In some examples, the beacon signal generated by thetransceiver 206 may include a unique identifier. In some examples, theunique identifier is unique to the UE such as an Integrated Circuit CardIdentifier (ICCID) of a subscriber identity module (SIM) card of the UE,an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of the UE, or anInternational Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the UE. In otherexamples, the identifier may be unique to the beacon signal generated bythe transceiver 206 (e.g., iBeacon ID, universally unique identifier(UUID), globally unique identifier (GUID), etc.).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example server 302. Server 302 is one possibleimplementation of location server 170 of FIG. 1. The componentsillustrated in FIG. 3 may be implemented in different types ofapparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in an SoC,etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into otherapparatuses in a communication system. For example, other apparatuses ina system may include components similar to those described to providesimilar functionality. Also, a given apparatus may contain one or moreof the components. For example, an apparatus may include multipletransceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiplecarriers and/or communicate via different technologies.

The location server 302 may include at least one communication device(represented by the communication device 304) for communicating withother nodes. For example, the communication device 304 may comprise anetwork interface that is configured to communicate with one or morenetwork entities via a wire-based or wireless links. In some aspects,the communication device 304 may be implemented as a transceiverconfigured to support wire-based or wireless signal communication. Thiscommunication may involve, for example, sending and receiving: messages,parameters, or other types of information. Accordingly, in the exampleof FIG. 3, the communication device 304 is shown as comprising atransmitter 306 and a receiver 308.

The location server 302 may also include other components that may beused in conjunction with the operations as taught herein. For example,the location server 302 may include hardware 310, one or more processors312, memory 314, and a user interface 326.

The hardware 310 may include additional hardware interfaces, datacommunications, and/or data storage hardware. For example, the hardwareinterfaces may include a data output device (e.g., visual display, audiospeakers), and one or more data input devices. The data input devicesmay include, but are not limited to, combinations of one or more ofkeypads, keyboards, mouse devices, touch screens that accept gestures,microphones, voice or speech recognition devices, and any other suitabledevices.

In addition, the location server 302 may include a user interface 326for providing indications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to auser and/or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of asensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on).

The memory 314 may be implemented using computer-readable media, such ascomputer storage media. Computer-readable media includes, at least, twotypes of computer-readable media, namely computer storage media andcommunications media. Computer storage media includes volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD), high-definition multimedia/data storage disks, orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmissionmedium that can be used to store information for access by a computingdevice. In contrast, communication media may embody computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal, such as a carrier wave, or other transmissionmechanism.

The processor 312 of location server 302 may execute instructions andperform tasks under the direction of software components that are storedin memory 314. For example, the memory 314 may store various softwarecomponents that are executable or accessible by the one or moreprocessors 312 of the location server 302. The various components mayinclude software 316 and a UE location module 318.

The software 316 and UE location module 318 may include routines,program instructions, objects, and/or data structures that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Forexample, the UE location module 318 may include one or moreinstructions, which when executed by the one or more processors 312direct the location server 302 to perform operations related to:receiving and responding to queries for a UE location generated by ACD127 and initiating and receiving UE location queries to and from UE1.

In operation, the UE location module 318 may receive a query from ACD127 for the current location of a particular UE (e.g., UE1). In someaspects, a received query includes a unique identifier of the UE forwhich location information is requested (e.g., ICCID, IMEI, IMSI,iBeacon ID UUID, GUID, etc.). Based on the unique identifier, the UElocation module 318 may send a query to the UE itself (e.g., via corenetwork 140 and/or internet 175). In response to receiving the currentlocation of the UE, the location server 302 may generate and send aresponse to the ACD 127 that provides an indication of the currentlocation of the UE.

As mentioned above, the location server 302 may communicate the currentlocation of the UE in a variety of ways. For example, in one embodiment,the UE location module 318 may forward the current geo-locationinformation (e.g., location coordinates) to the ACD 127, such that theACD 127 may determine if UE1 is within a threshold distance of the ACD127. In another example, the UE location module may determine thedistance between UE1 and the ACD 127 based on a known location of theACD 127 (stored in memory 314) and forward the distance information tothe ACD 127. In yet another example, the UE location module 318 maydetermine whether UE1 is within the threshold distance of the ACD 127and send a notification to the ACD 127 indicating as such.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example access control device (ACD) 402. ACD 402is one possible implementation of ACD 127 of FIG. 1. In the example ofFIG. 4, the communication device 404 of the ACD 402 includes a RAT Atransceiver 406 that is configured to operate in accordance with ashort-range RAT (e.g., Bluetooth and/or BLE). The communication device404 may also include a RAT B transceiver 408 that is configured tooperate in accordance with another RAT (e.g., LTE). Further shown asincluded in the example communication device 404 is a RAT C transceiver410 that may be configured to operate in accordance with yet another RAT(e.g., wi-fi). As used herein, a “transceiver” may include a transmittercircuit, a receiver circuit, or a combination thereof, but need notprovide both transmit and receive functionalities in all designs. Forexample, a low functionality receiver circuit may be employed in somedesigns to reduce costs when providing full communication is notnecessary (e.g., a receiver chip or similar circuitry simply providinglow-level sniffing) Further, as used herein, the term “co-located”(e.g., radios, access points, transceivers, etc.) may refer to one ofvarious arrangements. For example, components that are in the samehousing; components that are hosted by the same processor; componentsthat are within a defined distance of one another; and/or componentsthat are connected via an interface (e.g., an Ethernet switch) where theinterface meets the latency requirements of any required inter-componentcommunication (e.g., messaging).

The RAT transceivers 406-410 may provide different functionalities andmay be used for different purposes. As an example, the RAT A transceiver406 may operate in accordance with Bluetooth technology to detect beaconsignals broadcast by UE1, while the RAT B transceiver 408 may operate inaccordance with LTE technology to communicate with location server 170.

The components illustrated in FIG. 4 may be implemented in differenttypes of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, inan SoC, etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated intoother apparatuses in a communication system. For example, otherapparatuses in a system may include components similar to thosedescribed to provide similar functionality. Also, a given apparatus maycontain one or more of the components. For example, an apparatus mayinclude multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus tooperate on multiple carriers and/or communicate via differenttechnologies.

The ACD 402 may also include other components that may be used inconjunction with the operations as taught herein. For example, the ACD402 may include, memory 412, one or more processors 414, a beacondetection module 416, a location server interface module 418, a signalstrength monitoring module 420, and access determination module 422, anda trusted UE data store 424.

The beacon detection module 416 of ACD 402 may include hardware andoptionally software to detect the presence of beacon signals broadcastby one or more UEs (e.g., UE1). For example, the beacon detection module416 may interface with RAT A transceiver 406 for detecting the presenceof a Bluetooth or BLE beacon signal. In addition, the beacon detectionmodule 416 may be configured to extract and/or determine a uniqueidentifier that is included in the detected beacon signal. As mentionedabove, in some aspects, no communication session need be establishedbetween the ACD 402 and the UE1. Thus, beacon detection module 416 maybe configured to detect the presence of beacon signals generated by UEs,but need not send a response, or otherwise establish a communicationsession with the UE via the short-range communication RAT.

The location server interface module 418 of ACD 402 may include hardwareand optionally software to communicate with a location server (e.g.,location server 170). For example, location server interface module 418may be configured to send a query to the location server 170 for acurrent location of the UE1. As mentioned above, the location serverinterface module 418 may include a unique identifier associated with UE1in the query, itself, such that the location server 170 may obtain thelocation of the UE1 based on the unique identifier. The location serverinterface module 418 may also be configured to receive the indication ofthe current location of the UE1 from the location server 170.

The signal strength monitoring module 420 of ACD 402 may includehardware and optionally software to monitor the signal strength of oneor more beacon signals broadcast by one or more UEs (e.g., UE1). Inoperation, the signal strength monitoring module 420 may beginmonitoring the signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of the beacon signalsbroadcast by the UE1 in response to determining that the UE is within athreshold distance of the ACD 402. As mentioned above, in one examplethe location server 170 may provide the current location coordinate ofthe UE1. Thus, in this example, the signal strength monitoring module420 may calculate a distance between the UE1 and the ACD 402 based onthe location coordinates of the UE1 and known location coordinates ofthe ACD 402 (e.g., stored in memory 412). In other examples, thelocation server 170 may calculate a distance between the UE1 and the ACD402 and communicate the distance information to the ACD 402. In eithercase, the ACD 402 may then compare the calculated distance with thethreshold distance, and if the UE is within the threshold distance, thesignal strength monitoring module 420 may initiate the monitoring of thesignal strength threshold of the beacon signals. If the distanceinformation indicates that the UE1 is not within the threshold distance,then the ACD 402 may disregard the beacon signal transmitted by the UE.

In some examples, if a beacon signal is detected, but it is determinedthat the UE1 is not within the threshold distance, then the ACD 402 mayimplement a delay period, where the location server interface module 418may generate another query to obtain an updated location of the UE1 todetermine whether the UE1 is now within the threshold distance.

In some aspects, the ACD 402 may detect the presence of several beaconsignals, and generate a query for the current location of each of theUEs associated with the beacon signals. Thus, the received responsesfrom the location server 170 may include both an indication of thecurrent location of the UE and the associated unique identifier, suchthat the ACD 402 may correlate the detected beacon signal with thedetermined location.

The access determination module 422 of ACD 402 may include hardware andoptionally software to generate an access signal (e.g., access signal129 of FIG. 1). For example, in response to the signal strengthmonitoring module 420 detecting that the signal strength of the beaconsignal generated by UE1 exceeds a signal strength threshold (e.g.,indicating that the UE1 is in close proximity to the ACD 402), theaccess determination module 422 may generate the access signal 129indicating that the user (e.g., User1) associated with the UE1 isauthorized to access a protected resource (e.g., protected resource131). In some examples, access determination module 422 is configured tosend the access signal to a locking mechanism of a door lock to actuatethe locking mechanism between a locked position and an unlocked position(e.g., transition to unlocked position in the case of grantingauthorization). In another example, the access determination module 422is configured to send the access signal 129 to an automatic door openerto actuate a door between an open position and a closed position (e.g.,transition to open position in the case of granting authorization). Inyet another example, the access determination module 422 is configuredto send the access signal 129 to a software application of a computingdevice to grant the user access to the software application and/or toprotected data.

In some examples, the access determination module 422 may also implementone or more rule-based authentication techniques. For example, theaccess determination module 422 may be configured with one or moretime-based rules to grant access to a protected resource only duringspecified times.

The trusted UE data store 424 of ACD 402 may include hardware andoptionally software to maintain a list of trusted UEs and associatedunique identifiers. For example, the trusted UE data store 424 may storea list of trusted UEs and their associated unique identifiers (e.g.,ICCID, IMEI, IMSI, iBeacon ID UUID, GUID, etc.) for which the accessdetermination module 422 may grant access to the protected resource. Inone example, the list of trusted UEs are obtained by the ACD 402 duringan initial setup of the device. In other examples, the ACD 402 may beconfigured to receive and updated list of trusted UEs via one or more ofthe RAT transceivers 406-410.

In some examples, when beacon detection module 416 detects the presenceof a beacon signal transmitted by a UE, the beacon detection module 416may determine whether the unique identifier included in the beaconsignal corresponds to at least one of the trusted UEs included in thelist of trusted UEs (e.g., stored in trusted UE data store 424). If so,ACD 402 may proceed with sending the query to the location server 170 toobtain a current location of the UE. However, if the unique identifierdoes not correspond to any of the trusted UEs included in the list oftrusted UEs, the ACD 402 may deny access to the protected resource(e.g., do not query location server 170 for current location, do notmonitor signal strength of beacon signal, and do not generate the accesssignal 129).

FIG. 5 is a call flow diagram of an example process for multi-factorauthentication. FIG. 5 illustrates a UE 500, and ACD 502, and a locationserver 504. UE 500 may correspond to UE1 of FIG. 1, ACD 502 maycorrespond to ACD 127 of FIG. 1, and location server 504 may correspondto location server 170 of FIG. 1.

In block 506, the UE 500 generates one or more beacon signals 507. Asmentioned above, aspects of the present disclosure may require little,if any, user interaction in order for ACD 502 to perform itsauthentication. For example, existing short-range communicationtechnologies may provide for UE 500 to automatically generate the one ormore beacon signals on a periodic basis, provided that the particularRAT has been enabled by the user (e.g., Bluetooth turned on by User1).

In block 508, the ACD 502 detects the beacon signal 507. As mentionedabove, the ACD 502 need not respond to the UE 500 via the short-rangeRAT so as to further improve security. Thus, in response to detectingthe beacon signal 507, the ACD 502 may first determine whether a uniqueidentifier included in the beacon signal 507 corresponds to any of theUEs included in the list of trusted UEs (e.g., see trusted UE data store424 of FIG. 4). If so, the ACD 502 may then generate and send a query509 to the location server 504 for a current location of the UE 500.

Next, in block 512, the location server 504 generates and sends a queryto UE 500 to obtain the current location of the UE 500. As mentionedabove, the location server 504 may generate the query 511 based on theunique identifier included in the initial query 509. In some examples,the location server 504 is configured to not store the unique identifierin persistent storage, so as to prevent unauthorized access. That is,location server 504 may only temporarily store the unique identifierlong enough for the location server 504 to send the query 511, receivethe response 513 from the UE 500, and send the indication 515 to the ACD502. After which, the unique identifier may be purged from the memory oflocation server 504.

Returning back to block 514, the location server 504 then receives aresponse 513 from the UE 500 which indicates the current location of theUE 500. In some examples, the response 513 may include the locationcoordinates (e.g., LAT/LONG) of the UE 500. Next, in block 516 thelocation server 504 forwards an indication 515 of the current locationto the ACD 502.

In block 518, the ACD 502 receives the indication 515 and thendetermines whether the UE 500 is within a threshold distance of the ACD502 based on the current location provided in indication 515. Forexample, as will be described below with reference to FIG. 6, a ‘safezone’ may be established around the ACD 502, which may act as ageo-fence for determining which beacon signals to monitor for access tothe protected resource. If the ACD 502 determines that the UE 500 iswithin the threshold distance, then the ACD 502 may then beginmonitoring a signal strength of the beacon signals (e.g., beacon signal507 as well as subsequent beacon signals periodically transmitted by UE500). In block 520, the ACD 502 generates the access signal 517 to granta user associated with UE 500 access to a protected resource.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a UE at various locations with respectto an ACD. As mentioned above, the ACD may be configured with a safezone, which defines a threshold distance within which UEs have to belocated in order for the ACD to begin monitoring the signal strength ofthe beacon signals. Thus, FIG. 6 illustrates an example thresholddistance 610 from the ACD, which provides a ‘safe zone’ 612.Accordingly, the ACD may monitor the signal strength of beacon signalfor UEs that are determined to be within the safe-zone 612 and maydisregard beacon signals detected for UEs that are outside of thesafe-zone 612 (shown in FIG. 6 as region 614).

By way of example, FIG. 6 illustrates a single UE at various locations604-608. When the UE is at location 604, the ACD 602 may detect thepresence of a beacon signal transmitted by the UE. In response todetecting the beacon signal, the ACD may query the location server for acurrent location of the UE. However, the indication of the currentlocation provided by the location server indicates that the UE is notwithin the safe-zone 612 (e.g., not within the threshold distance).However, as the user moves towards the ACD, the UE may advance toposition 606 that is within the safe-zone 612. Accordingly, the ACD maythen begin monitoring the signal strength of the beacon signalstransmitted by the UE. However, when the UE is located at position 606,the signal strength of the beacon signals may not exceed the signalstrength threshold, indicating that the UE is not yet within closeproximity to the ACD. However, the user may continue moving towards theACD, such that at position 608, the signal strength of the beaconsignals do indeed exceed the signal strength threshold. Accordingly, theACD 602 may then generate the access signal (e.g., access signal 129 ofFIG. 1) to grant the user access to the protected resource.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process 700 formulti-factor authentication performed by an ACD. Process 700 is oneexample process performed by the ACD 402 of FIG. 4.

In a process block 702, the beacon detection module 416 of FIG. 4detects at least one beacon signal transmitted by a UE (e.g., UE1 ofFIG. 1) via a short-range RAT (e.g., Bluetooth, BLE, Zigbee, Wi-Fi,etc.). The ACD 402 may then determine whether a unique identifierincluded in the beacon signal correlates to any of the trusted UEsincluded in the trusted UE data store 424. If so, process 700 mayproceed to process block 702, where the location server interface module418 sends a query to the location server (e.g., location server 170) fora current location of the UE. Next, in process block 706, the locationserver interface module 418 receives an indication (e.g., positioncoordinates, distance, etc.) of the current location of the UE. Inprocess block 708, the signal strength monitoring module 420 determineswhether the UE is within a threshold distance (e.g., distance 610 ofFIG. 6) of the ACD 402 based on the indication received from thelocation server.

If the ACD 402 determines that the UE is indeed within the thresholddistance of the ACD 402, then process 700 proceeds to process block 710,where the signal strength monitoring module 420 initiates (i.e., begins)monitoring the signal strength of one or more beacon signals transmittedby the UE. In process block 712, the signal strength monitoring module420 compares the signal strength of the beacon signal with a signalstrength threshold (e.g., to determine whether the UE is in closeproximity to the ACD 402). If so, then in process block 714, the accessdetermination module 422 generates the access signal 129 to indicatethat the user associated with the UE is granted access to a protectedresource (e.g., protected resource 131 of FIG. 1).

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of ACD 127 controllingaccess by way of a door lock 800. As shown in FIG. 8, door lock 800 ismounted to a door 802 for controlling access to an area 804, which maybe the interior of a dwelling, a storage area, an office, etc. Door lock800 is shown as including a locking mechanism 808, a bolt 810, a strikeplate 812, a housing 814, a thumb turn 816, a keypad 818, security ring820, one or more keys 822, and ACD 127. In some embodiments, one or moreof the thumb turn 816, keypad 818, security ring 820, and keys 822 areoptional and may be omitted. Thumb turn 816 is configured to provide auser with manual control over a position of the bolt 810, between alocked position (e.g., extended) and an unlocked position (e.g.,retracted) while the user is within the interior area 804. Similarly,security ring 820 and keys 822 are configured to provide a user withmanual control over the position of the bolt 810 while the user is inthe exterior area 806. Keypad 818 may be provided to allow a user toenter a code (e.g., alphanumeric characters) in order to trigger thelocking mechanism 808 to actuate the bolt 810 between the locked andunlocked positions.

FIG. 8 also illustrates the door lock 800 as including an ACD 127. ACD127 may be implemented as any of the example ACDs described herein,including ACD 402 of FIG. 4. ACD 127 may be incorporated within thehousing 814 or ACD 127 may be fixedly attached to an exterior of thehousing 814 (e.g., connected to thumb turn 816). As shown, once a useris authenticated (e.g., via process 700 of FIG. 7), the ACD 127 maygenerate and send the access signal 129 to the locking mechanism 808. Insome examples, locking mechanism 808 includes a motor or other actuatorto alter a position of the bolt 810 between the locked and unlockpositions.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of ACD 127 controllingaccess by way of an automatic door opener 900. As shown in FIG. 9,automatic door opener 900 is mounted between a door 902 and a doorframe/wall 904 for controlling access to an area such as a dwelling, astorage area, an office, etc. Automatic door opener 900 is shown asincluding a housing 906, a level arm 908, a motor 910, and ACD 127.

ACD 127 of FIG. 9 may be implemented as any of the example ACDsdescribed herein, including ACD 402 of FIG. 4. ACD 127 may beincorporated within the housing 906 or ACD 127 may be fixedly attachedto an exterior of the housing 906. As shown, once a user isauthenticated (e.g., via process 700 of FIG. 7), the ACD 127 maygenerate and send the access signal 129 to the motor 910. In someexamples, the motor 910 or other actuator is configured to alter aposition of the door 902 between an open position and a closed positionby way of lever arm 908.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of ACD 127 controllingaccess to a software application 1002 of a computing device 1000. Thecomputing device 1000 may be implemented as different types ofapparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in an SoC,etc.). Furthermore, the illustrated components of computing device 1000may also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communicationsystem. For example, other apparatuses in a system may includecomponents similar to those described to provide similar functionality.Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. Forexample, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components thatenable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and/or communicatevia different technologies.

The computing device 1000 may include at least one communication devicefor communicating with other nodes. For example, the computing device1000 may comprise a network interface that is configured to communicatewith one or more network entities via a wire-based or wireless links.The computing device 1000 may also include other components that may beused in conjunction with the operations as taught herein. For example,the computing device 1000 may include hardware, one or more processors,memory, and a user interface.

The hardware of computing device 1000 may include additional hardwareinterfaces, data communications, and/or data storage hardware. Forexample, the hardware interfaces may include a data output device (e.g.,visual display, audio speakers), and one or more data input devices. Thedata input devices may include, but are not limited to, combinations ofone or more of keypads, keyboards, mouse devices, touch screens thataccept gestures, microphones, voice or speech recognition devices, andany other suitable devices.

In addition, the computing device 1000 may include a user interface forproviding indications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to auser and/or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of asensing device such as a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and soon).

The processor of computing device 1000 may execute instructions andperform tasks under the direction of software components that are storedin memory. For example, the memory of computing device may store varioussoftware components that are executable or accessible by the one or moreprocessors of the location server computing device. The variouscomponents may include software application 1002.

The software application 1002 may include routines, programinstructions, objects, and/or data structures that perform particulartasks or implement particular abstract data types. For example, thesoftware application 1002 may provide a secure interface, where accessto the software application 1002 is only provided after a user has firstbeen authenticated.

Accordingly, computing device 1000 may include ACD 127. The ACD 127 ofFIG. 10 may be implemented as any of the example ACDs described herein,including ACD 402 of FIG. 4. ACD 127 may be incorporated within thehousing 1004 of the computing device 1000 or ACD 127 may be fixedlyattached to an exterior of the housing 1004 (e.g., as a peripheraldevice). As shown, once a user is authenticated (e.g., via process 700of FIG. 7), the ACD 127 may generate and send the access signal 129 tothe software application 1002. In some examples, the softwareapplication 1002 is configured to grant user access to the softwareapplication 1002 in response to receiving the access signal 129.

CONCLUSION

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather,the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms ofimplementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of multi-factor authentication,performed by an access control device, the method comprising: detecting,by the access control device, at least one beacon signal of a pluralityof beacon signals periodically transmitted by a user equipment (UE) viaa short-range radio access technology (RAT), wherein the at least onebeacon signal includes a unique identifier of the UE; sending a query toa location server for a current location of the UE in response todetecting the at least one beacon signal; receiving an indication of thecurrent location from the location server in response to sending thequery; determining whether the UE is within a threshold distance of theaccess control device based on the indication of the current location;monitoring a signal strength of one or more beacon signals of theplurality of beacon signals periodically transmitted by the UE inresponse to determining that the UE is within the threshold distance;comparing the signal strength of the one or more beacon signals with asignal strength threshold; generating an access signal in response todetermining that the signal strength of the one or more beacon signalsexceeds the signal strength threshold, wherein the access signalindicates that a user associated with the UE is authorized to access aprotected resource; maintaining a list of trusted UEs and associatedunique identifiers; determining whether the unique identifier of the UEcorresponds to a trusted UE included in the list of trusted UEs, whereinsending the query to the location server for the current location of theUE is in response to determining that the unique identifier of the UE isincluded in the list of trusted UEs; and denying access to the protectedresource in response to determining that the unique identifier of the UEdoes not correspond to any trusted UEs included in the list of trustedUEs.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the short-range RAT comprisesBluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi, or Zigbee.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the unique identifier comprises an IntegratedCircuit Card Identifier (ICCID) of a subscriber identity module (SIM)card of the UE, an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of theUE, or an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the UE. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein querying the location server for thecurrent location of the UE comprises forwarding the unique identifier tothe location server, wherein the location server obtains the currentlocation of the UE based on the unique identifier.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the current location fromthe location server comprises receiving current location coordinates ofthe UE, the method further comprising: calculating a distance betweenthe UE and the access control device based on the current locationcoordinates of the UE and location coordinates of the access controldevice, wherein monitoring the signal strength of the one or more beaconsignals periodically transmitted by the UE is in response to determiningthat calculated distance is less than the threshold distance.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the currentlocation from the location server comprises receiving a distance betweenthe UE and the access control device, determined by the location server,the method further comprising: monitoring the signal strength of the oneor more beacon signals in response to determining that the distance isless than the threshold distance.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving the indication of the current location from the locationserver comprises receiving a notification that the UE is within thethreshold distance of the access control device, the method furthercomprising: monitoring the signal strength of the one or more beaconsignals in response to receiving the notification.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein monitoring the signal strength of one or more beaconsignals comprises determining a received signal strength indication(RSSI) of the one or more beacon signals.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein generating the access signal comprises sending the access signalto a locking mechanism to actuate the locking mechanism between a lockedposition and an unlocked position.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereingenerating the access signal comprises sending the access signal to anautomatic door opener to actuate a door between an open position and aclosed position.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein generating theaccess signal comprises sending the access signal to a softwareapplication of a computing device to grant the user associated with theUE access to the software application.
 12. An access control device,comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled tothe at least one processor, the at least one memory having instructionsstored therein, which when executed by the at least one processor,direct the access control device to: detect at least one beacon signalof a plurality of beacon signals periodically transmitted by a userequipment (UE) via a short-range radio access technology (RAT), whereinthe at least one beacon signal includes a unique identifier of the UE;send a query to a location server for a current location of the UE inresponse to detecting the at least one beacon signal; receive anindication of the current location from the location server in responseto sending the query; determine whether the UE is within a thresholddistance of the access control device based on the indication of thecurrent location; monitor a signal strength of one or more of theplurality of beacon signals periodically transmitted by the UE inresponse to determining that the UE is within the threshold distance;compare the signal strength of the one or more beacon signals with asignal strength threshold; generate an access signal in response todetermining that the signal strength of the one or more beacon signalsexceeds the signal strength threshold, wherein the access signalindicates that a user associated with the UE is authorized to access aprotected resource; maintain a list of trusted UEs and associated uniqueidentifiers; determine whether the unique identifier of the UEcorresponds to a trusted UE included in the list of trusted UEs, whereinthe instructions to send the query to the location server for thecurrent location of the UE comprises instructions to send the query inresponse to determining that the unique identifier of the UE is includedin the list of trusted UEs; and deny access to the protected resource inresponse to determining that the unique identifier of the UE does notcorrespond to any trusted UE included in the list of trusted UEs. 13.The access control device of claim 12, wherein the short-range RATcomprises Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi, or Zigbee. 14.The access control device of claim 12, wherein the unique identifiercomprises an Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) of a subscriberidentity module (SIM) card of the UE, an International Mobile EquipmentIdentity (IMEI) of the UE, or an International Mobile SubscriberIdentity (IMSI) of the UE.
 15. One or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions, whichwhen executed by at least one processor of an access control device,direct the access control device to: detect at least one beacon signalof a plurality of beacon signals periodically transmitted by a userequipment (UE) via a short-range radio access technology (RAT), whereinthe at least one beacon signal includes a unique identifier of the UE;send a query to a location server for a current location of the UE inresponse to detecting the at least one beacon signal; receive anindication of the current location from the location server in responseto sending the query; determine whether the UE is within a thresholddistance of the access control device based on the indication of thecurrent location; monitor a signal strength of one or more of theplurality of beacon signals periodically transmitted by the UE inresponse to determining that the UE is within the threshold distance;compare the signal strength of the one or more beacon signals with asignal strength threshold; generate an access signal in response todetermining that the signal strength of the one or more beacon signalsexceeds the signal strength threshold, wherein the access signalindicates that a user associated with the UE is authorized to access aprotected resource; maintain a list of trusted UEs and associated uniqueidentifiers; determine whether the unique identifier of the UEcorresponds to a trusted UE included in the list of trusted UEs, whereinthe instructions to send the query to the location server for thecurrent location of the UE comprises instructions to send the query inresponse to determining that the unique identifier of the UE is includedin the list of trusted UEs; and deny access to the protected resource inresponse to determining that the unique identifier of the UE does notcorrespond to any of the trusted UEs included in the list of trustedUEs.
 16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim15, wherein the short-range RAT comprises Bluetooth, Bluetooth LowEnergy (BLE), Wi-Fi, or Zigbee.
 17. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the unique identifiercomprises an Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) of a subscriberidentity module (SIM) card of the UE, an International Mobile EquipmentIdentity (IMEI) of the UE, or an International Mobile SubscriberIdentity (IMSI) of the UE.
 18. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 15, wherein querying the locationserver for the current location of the UE comprises forwarding theunique identifier to the location server, wherein the location serverobtains the current location of the UE based on the unique identifier.19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15,wherein receiving the indication of the current location from thelocation server comprises receiving current location coordinates of theUE, the access control device further configured to: calculate adistance between the UE and the access control device based on thecurrent location coordinates of the UE and location coordinates of theaccess control device, wherein monitoring the signal strength of the oneor more beacon signals periodically transmitted by the UE is in responseto determining that calculated distance is less than the thresholddistance.
 20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 15, wherein receiving the indication of the current location fromthe location server comprises receiving a distance between the UE andthe access control device, determined by the location server, the accesscontrol device further configured to: monitor the signal strength of theone or more beacon signals in response to determining that the distanceis less than the threshold distance.